That's the way I loved you
by Race for the clock tower
Summary: The crime fighting duo is still locking away murderers, only now they’re dating. What happens when they come across a case that they expect to be easy,but potentially lands them in a bit of trouble, puting a strain on their relationship? Fluff and Murde
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Castle, or Rubbermaid containers. **

**Special thanks to Cullenluva715 who always helps me =] Go check out her Castle story "It's a date" Its pretty cool. **

**That's the way I loved you**

_I was standing on a brightly lit stage, in front of what had to be at least 20,000 people, all calling my name. Strobe lights flickered in my face, as I belted out a beautiful song about love. _

"_Kate! Kate! Kate!" The crowd chanted, as I threw kisses at them. I did a little twirl and started another song._

_Vrreemm,_ A strange noise launched me upright in my bed, snapping me out of my dream.

"Ugh" I groaned groggily, ticked at being awaken. "I never get to the encore." I looked at the clock which read 6:45. Next to the clock, sat my cell phone, which was vibrating up a storm, waking me up.

I looked down at the screen, trying to figure out who was the culprit of waking me from my dream. "Castle." I smiled.

"Good morning handsome." I said into the phone.

"Well hello my beautifully, how did we sleep last night?" Hearing his voice first thing in the morning always made my day so much brighter.

"I slept good. Like a rock." Since I had started dating Castle about six months ago the nightmares about my mother had become scarce, very rarely occurring, almost a thing of the past.

"I can tell, I only had to call you about 6 times to get you to pick up." He chuckled into the receiver. Six times? I must have been more into my dream than I thought.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you waiting, are you in a hurry to tell me something?" I apologized.

"Don't worry about it, you needed your sleep. Oh, and no hurry, the body's not getting up anytime soon."

"The body? Since when do you get notification about a case before me?" I asked, wondering why the chief had contacted him before me.

"Since you were woken up before 4am, three times last week. You've been so tired, it's almost criminal. I simply requested they call me first, so I can wait till the last possible minute to wake you up." He sounded proud of himself.

I knew I should have some protest about his little plan, but I found it extremely sweet. If there was such thing as feeling your heart smile, I would be sporting a heart grin right about now.

"That's very thoughtful of you."

"Thoughtful? What no yelling? I thought you'd be mad at me."

"It's too sweet to yell at." I admitted blushing. I always blushed at the slightest things.

He laughed. "Well when you're done blushing, get up and ready and we'll head down to the crime scene. I'll pick you up in a half hour?"

"How'd you know I was blushing?" I said turning a shade darker of red.

"I know you to well. See ya in 20." He said hanging up.

* * *

***

"How the hell is that possible?" Castle said not having a witty comment for once, bending over a Rubbermaid container, in the middle of the local convenience store.

"He got killed, and stuffed in a box, what can't you understand?" Ryan said jotting something down in his notepad.

"I'm referring to how one gets killed in the middle of a store? If someone was getting killed, you think people would notice."

"Not necessarily Castle" I said, walking up to stand next to him. I called him Castle at work, and Hon—well, other names away from work. "People get killed in stores all the time. Every Black Friday you hear of all the people that get trampled to death. No one ever stops for them."

"Well considering the fact that his head and limbs are in one container and his torsos in another, I think it's safe to say he didn't get trampled." He said making a face of disgust.

"Oh you're such a cleaver one." I teased him in a mock voice, patting him on the back in a fake 'job-well-done'

"I try." He smiled.

"Castles right." Lanie said, looking up from the body. "Cause of death indicates blunt force trauma to the head. Time of death between, 5 and 8 pm, Last night."

"The store was open then" I said looking over at the sign on the wall, telling me the market is open until 10pm on Thursdays.

Esposito pitched in saying, "He was murdered then, but not necessarily moved then. Forensics tested negative for traces of blood here earlier. This isn't our original crime scene. Think about it, a killer wouldn't bleach and clean the floor after they disembody someone, only to leave the body out in the open."

"Unless the killer didn't have time to move the body, before someone else discovered it." I said trying all the possibilities.

"No, unless we have a moronic killer on our hands, moving the body is always the first thing you do." Castle said.

I nodded in agreement and turned to Ryan, "See if you can get a name for this guy. I want everything on him that's in the system. Backgrounds, records, whatever you can find. Esposito, talk to the store owner see what he has to say. Get any security tapes from last night. Castle come with me, were going back to the station."

"Yes ma'am" he said following me out of the store and to the car. There was already about a dozen or so reporters lined up along the caution tape, just waiting to get a hold of any details. I always found it sick, how the media flocked all over violence like vultures.

I unlocked the door, hopped in, and buckled up when I noticed Castle starring at me.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you look when you're trying to figure out a murder?" He said smiling a sly grin.

"I believe you may have mentioned that before."

"Well I'm going say it again, just because I enjoy your blush. Ohhh look it's getting darker." He said pointing at my face.

"I'm not blushing, It's just hot in here." I lied, keeping my eyes on the rear-view mirror.

"Kate, we're in the middle of a New York winter, you're not wearing a coat, the heat is off, and you're telling me it's too hot, correct?"

"Well, Uh-" I started to stutter out, trying to think of something to say.

"Or is my presence making you warm? Can't help but thinking of me sitting so very close to you right now, imagining me reaching out and touching you."

"We're working." I told him, he knew I liked to keep things professional while I was on the clock, but he always seemed to be in a flirty mood.

"I know. Oh! That reminds me! Do you know what tomorrow is?" He said raising an eyebrow. I shot a glance over at him, quickly returning my eyes back to the road.

"Would you be referring to our six month anniversary?" I guess.

"That I am."

"I thought men weren't supposed to remember that kind of thing? Isn't it my job to yell at you, when you forget?"

He snorted. "Not all men are completely out of it, some of us actually do have a romantic side you know." It was my turn to snort.

"What you don't believe me?" He asked. "If I wasn't romantic, would I have made a reservation at Caviar Russe, for tomorrow night at 7?"

"The place on 54th?" I asked flabbergasted.

"That's the one." He said proudly.

"Okay, well, maybe I was wrong; some of you can be sort of romantic." I pulled in the back parking lot of our building.

"Sort of?" Castle questioned, but I had already gotten out of the car and started heading towards the building entrance.

Castle trailed me all the way up to my desk, muttering to himself about something. I had just sat down on my wheelie chair when my phone rang.

"Talk Esposito" I said, answering it.

"Hey, store owner said video cameras were down all last night, and didn't start rolling again till he came in this morning. Said, he noticed nothing out of place, no doors or locks broken in to, and nothing suspicious had happened the night before. The Rubbermaid containers had been there for couple month now, just a part of inventory, and empty to his knowledge, up until this morning."

"Why were they down, was the system down?"

"Sounds to me like the only time the cameras are on, is when the stores open. A lot of smaller businesses do that to conserve tape, and money, Heck half the places don't even have a working camera I would bet."

"That doesn't help me. I can't assume anything though, it's too much of a coincidence for me. What's this guy's name again?"

"Samuel Ramirez. He's owned the market for about 20 years now, and said he's never had any problem with any people before. Seem pretty shaken about the whole thing."

"Well good work, I guess. I still don't have a good feeling about this guy though. Cameras off, nothing broken into, seem a little too perfect for a murder." If we couldn't come up with any more leads, Samuel Ramirez would become the first on my list.

"I hear ya. I'll letcha know if I come across anything" He said.

"Thanks." I said snapping my phone shut.

I started shifting through the papers on my desk to trying to find my notebook, to write down Samuels name so I wouldn't forget when I notice Castle starring at me.

"Can I help you?" I asked, continuing to dig through the mountain of papers in front of me.

"Nothing. Just watching. Have I e-"

"Yes you've mentioned I look sexy trying to solve murders before." I said cutting him off. He huffed back into his chair, sulking.

"I wasn't going to say that, I already told you that on the car ride over. As a writer, I try and use new material each time I complement you. Makes me feel more creative."

"Is that right? Okay sorry for interrupting then, what were you going to say?" I said finial putting down my papers and looking at him.

"Never mind. It's too late now. You ruined it." He said folding his arms across his chest, and sticking his chin in the hair.

"That's because you have nothing. You were going to tell me I was hot." I smiled knowing I was right.

'No, I was going to tell you, that you are beautiful, there's a big difference. It's okay to refer to hookers as hot, but I'd much rather refer to a smart, sophisticated women as yourself as beautiful." He always did know how to make me smile.

"Thanks." I said. I'm really good with replying to compliments, so I usually just thanked the person. Let's just say flirting isn't exactly my forte. "But I was right."

"Well it's not my fault, seeing you focused on your work, excites me." He said with a mischievous grin. Okay so I couldn't flirt well, but that didn't keep me from trying.

I leaned in closer to him, so I was almost up against his face. I looked him right in the eye and said "You know what excites me Castle?"

"hmm?" he said gulping.

"That rush of adrenaline, feel of stimulation and pleasure I get when I know I solved a murder. Help me solve this murder and we can celebrate, while I'm in a good mood." I smiled and winked at him before I leaned away.

I thought I heard him mutter something like "Naughty Detective" before he sprang out of his chair. "Alright, let's make this fast. Quick, what do we know about this case so far? Anything?" He started pacing back and forth looking perplexed. He suddenly stopped, turned and looked at me.

"We know nothing about this case yet. PLEASE, don't make me wait" he begged.

"Wait for what?" Ryan asked strolling in the room.

"Nothing." I quickly said, changing the subject. "Did you find anything on our vic?"

"Okay." He shrugged. "Yeah, his names actually Vic. Victor Castillo. 42, not married, lives in the apartment across the street from the market. Vic also has quite the tab at the store. He's got one of those installment accounts open, and turns out he owes about 2500, and missed two monthly payments."

"2500 dollars? That seems a lot for a small store to lend on credit." I noted.

"Your right, actually it turns out there's a maximum of a $200 tab, at the store. Only Castillo's balance is that high."

"Why would Ramirez lend him that much extra money?" Castle questions.

"I'm not sure, but I think we should have a word with him. Ryan get Esposito to bring him in for questioning." I said. Ryan nodded and walked out, leaving me and Castle alone.

When I looked over at Castle he had a frown on his face. "Rick?" I asked, wondering what was wrong. It was one of those moments I randomly got when 'Concerned girlfriend' mode kickied in.

"This is going to take forever!" he yelled frustrated and stomped his foot like a little kid. I smiled and kissed him on the check.

"Patience Castle, Patience."

* * *

**A/N- What do you think?! Let me know!!! And I'm not a professional murder writer, so I'm sorry for all the flaws. I only know things from picking it up on the show. Other than Castle I steer clear of Murder. I only think there should be another chapter or so, this was originally a very long one shot. **


	2. Chapter 2

Update Finialy =]

Disclaimer- I don't own Castle. I'm not a professional in crimal justice. Sorry If some facts are wrong. 

**Chapter 2**

"I am patient." He complained.

"Are not." I challenged.

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Yes I am!"

"Are- Whatever, I don't have time for this." I was in the middle of a murder, not some childish debate. I turned on my heels and headed to the break room, not surprised when I found Castle following me. I placed my cup under the espresso maker and pushed the green button. Instantly the room was filled with a sweet smell of coffee. My stomach growled as I added my cream and sugar.

"Mhhm." I moaned as I sipped the foam off the top of the drink.

"About tomorrow" Castle started "Reservations are at 7, but I still anticipate a bit of a wait. I want to leave for the restaurant around 6:30. I assume you'll need an hour to get ready?"

"At the least, but I don't know how early I can get out of here." If I were to need an hour to get ready I would need to leave work around 4:30, beat the traffic home in only a half hour.

"Kate, your here practically around the clock, I'll even talk to the chief for you if you want?"

"No, I guess he'll be fine with it, as long as I get this case on its way. Esposito should be bringing in Samuel soon, and so far, all roads, lead to him." Just then my cell phone rang.

"Speak of the devil." I said, showing Castle the caller I.D.

"I always found it rather creepy when he did that."

"Me too." I agreed. "Hello."

"It's Esposito. Apparently our favorite store owner, is currently on his way out of town to visit his sister in Pennsylvania, and won't be back till tomorrow."

"He left town already? He ran for cover fast."

"Actually, according to the train station, he bought the ticket last week, when he arranged the trip. When I pulled his credit card records, they showed he paid for a hotel 3 days ago, down in Philadelphia."

"Seems like the perfect way to get away from the cops to me. See if you can find anything about the sister, and where she lives." I said.

"Yeah, Want me to have him picked up the second he gets off that train?"

"Yes, but not today. I want him the second he comes back. I don't need him switching trains, or figuring out were looking for him and hiding out in Philadelphia somewhere."

"Okay, first thing tomorrow, I got it." And he hung up.

I sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

* * *

...

I got into work about eight o'clock the next morning, where I was informed Samuel Ramirez's train home was due at the station at Twelve. At 2 O'clock, five trains had unloaded since noon, none of which Ramirez stepped off of. I was getting worried that I had made the wrong mistake of not having the boys snag him the previous day when I finally got the call, informing me that Samuel Ramirez was picked up by the cops and bring brought in for questioning.

It was already nearly after three, and I wanted to leave by four thirty, so I made sure I was ready for the questioning while we waited for Samuels arrival.

"Are you ready?" I asked Castel, standing up to walk to the questioning room.

"For what?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"The questioning. Come on Castle work with me here." I sighed. He had been kind of spacey all day today.

"Oh right…the questioning. Dun Dun Dum" He said complete with sound effects.  
I think we should make this sound a little more…exciting, than calling it a questioning."

We were walking down the hall way towards the room. "Okay, interrogation." I suggested. I had gotten used to his way of trying to make everything he did sound more exciting. You know some ones a writer when they refuse to call it 'going to the movies' and instead refers to it as 'a cinematic adventure'. Some may call that creativity, or over-active imagination, but I prefer to call it trying to make yourself look cooler.

"That still sounds boring, it has to sound different. Like Extraction of the truth."

"Extraction of the truth? You can't be serious?" He had definitely gone off the deep end.

"Yes, I am serious. You're going in there to pull out the truth from this man. It's the same thing as saying interrogating, just more unique." He smiled then, amused.

"Castle, get in there." I said opening the door and proceeding to follow him into the room where Ramirez sat. He was a man who looked to be about 50 years old, possibly late 40's. He had tan skin, and white hair, with some black sprinkled around the sides of his face. His build was very large, and intimidating, but his face looked as if it belonged to an approachable old man, not a cold blooded killer. He watched as we entered and took our seats. He didn't say a word, and after about two minutes of a very long silence I began my 'Extracting.'

"Mr. Ramirez, Did you personally know Victor Castillo?" Ramirez Stiffened, looking down at his hands, thinking out his answer.

"I did." He said lifting his head, to look me in the eyes. "He lived close to my store. He came in every few days and bought some groceries from me. We were friendly but not friends."

"Friendly, but not friends? It's awful nice of you to lend almost three grand to someone you occasionally waved to." I challenged, letting him, fall into his own trap.

"I knew he was having financial trouble. I pitied him. He had a little girl he always brought in, either his daughter or granddaughter. Perhaps a niece or neighbor, I don't know, I never asked. I just assumed he helped feed her, and in these times, I try and help those less fortunate than me."

"Why not help others as you say then?" He still looked forward, but now above me. His eyes remained stationary, fixed on a certain spot on the wall, but held much sadness in them. I've seen sad eyes in criminals before, usually self pity, masking guilt. One thing I've found over the years is that people will play up the drama, trying to get you to shed a tear for them, to take the attention off the innocent person they brutally mangled.

When he continued to be silent, I added "I've got a list of people that have a tab at your store, and Mr. Castillo owes by far the most."

"Those are supposed to be confidential!" He suddenly perked up.

"We have a warrant." Castle corrected, coming alive for the first time in the interrogation.

"If you'll look here Mr. Ramirez, Victor Castillo has a balance of over $2500, while you have a $200 limit. No one else exceeds that limit." I shoved the folder of paperwork towards him so he could read it.

"I told you. He was a decent person, lived close, and we were friendly. What's so wrong with helping him?" his face had turned red, and his Hispanic accent had thickened with his anger.

"It's a problem because he's dead. YOU found him; nothing else was displaced in YOUR store where he was found, and YOUR security cameras were down. He owed YOU money. Coincidence? I think not." Somewhere in my rant I had, stood up and started slapping my hand down on the table for emphasis, whenever I mentioned him.

"What? This is ridiculous, are you implying I killed him?"

"I'm not implying, I'm more then sure you did. There's motive-"

"I would never kill anyone! Especially that man! He never bothered me; he's the kind of guy that helped me shovel the snow in front of my store, so customers could get in. Why would I kill him?" He let out a rush of air, having not stopped to breathe once through his rant.

"Money can do weird things to people, have you ever heard the expression 'Money, the root of all evil'?"

"Please, I could not kill him." He begged. "I was home with my family that night, and getting ready to visit my sister."

"That's another good point you just brought up Mr. Ramirez. When the police talked to you the other day, did any of them mention not leaving town, while you were possibly a suspect in the case?" I had not previously talked to this man, but cops usually try and persuade a suspect to stick around.

"Yes, But I had been planning this trip for weeks. My sister lives all alone with her three kids, and occasionally I go down for a night and help out, you know, give her a break. She works so hard and two jobs, just to barley make meets end."

"You still went without having permission."

"I'm sorry, I, I, sorry." He stuttered out. I could tell he wasn't sure what to do or even say. My job is to tell when people were lying, and this man was making my job very difficult. He didn't come off as being guilty, but as genuine, he wore a good mask.

I caught a glimpse of Castle checking his watch out of my peripheral vision, and I knew it was getting late. If I wanted to make it out of here on time, I was going to have to start wrapping things up.

"Mr. Ramirez, your security cameras were down on the night of this murder. Nothing in your store was ransacked, broken into or out of place. The notes detective Esposito left me here indicate that you have the only key to the store, and that you lock it every night, and that it was locked the night of the murder. Unless the murderer did an exceptional job at cleaning the crime scene, the murder didn't happen in your store, which means the body was moved into your store. You would have noticed someone carrying in a dead body if it had been dropped while you were open. And if the body was placed later, how did the person get in your store? Why was the system ironically down? Do you see why this looks bad?"

Mixed emotions crossed his face, and he knew, no matter how much he denied it, he was done for.

"Did you kill him?" I pressed harshly not letting him drop my gaze.

He shook his head slightly, if I hadn't been watching intently I might have missed it, and slowly opened his mouth to speak. "Can I get my lawyer?"

At his words I started collecting my papers and shoved them back neatly into my folder, and stood up. "Yes, you have a right to a lawyer, but you will have to meet with him from inside a prison sell. Samuel Ramirez you are being charged with the murder of Victor Castillo."

* * *

...

"That took less time than I expected, I was worried we were going to have to cancel our plans." Castle said, relieved as we gathered our things to leave.

"Me too. I can't help but to feel unsatisfied though. Never have I charged someone on such little evidence and motive. Sure the guy owed money, but would $2500 be enough to kill over?"

"Kate people kill over things stupider than money; I shouldn't have to be the one reminding you of that. Last week someone was gunned down on a highway by another driver with road rage. Seems like now a day's people don't even need a good reason to kill, not that any good reason makes it okay to kill, I'm just saying."

"No, I get what you mean. And yes I know people do stupid things, but usually I can tell when they're lying, or they break and finally admit it. "

"He asked for a lawyer, what more of a confession do you want?"

"That wasn't a confession. He knew the game and wanted his back covered before he said anything else. Usually I can get some kind of proof that they actually did it from them, and this case I didn't. Didn't check in with an alibi; gather any prints or physical evidence. We didn't even find a murder weapon, how's that going to hold up in court?"

"Lanie can tell you what kind of weapon he used, and we don't always recover them. Plus how many criminals have you put away in your career? The judges know you, and are well aware you always catch the right man. They'll push this one through, just because they know you."

"Judges in real life don't work like they do in fiction books, Castle. They can't just make up sentences as they feel like it. They need hard copy proof."

"Let's just let it play out and see where the chips fall, shall we?" He suggested.

"Okay, but until then, even though this case is closed, I don't consider it a win." I mumbled.

Castle stopped with one arm in his jacket with one arm out.

"You're kidding right?" He huffed.

"About what?"

"The one case you promise to celebrate with me, you're not even excited about!?" He all but nearly yelled.

"Don't worry Castle, something tells me that even though I feel wrong about this case, you'll still get your reward." I winked at him, and laughed when he's cocky grin bared itself across his face. "See you at 6. Don't be late. Or else"

"Or else?"

"Well, you know when bad boys get in trouble they need to be-"My pathetic attempt at flirting was interrupted.

"Stop! Beckett I don't want to know the details of you and Castle reprimanding each other. Punish each other not me." My cheeks turned red as Ryan walked in, yelled, placed his hands over his ears, and walked right back out.

"That's embarrassing," I said still red.

"Yeah, sure," Castle said dismissing it. "Now what was this you were saying about boys who are late?"

"Well I guess if you really want to know, you're just going to have to find out for yourself now won't you?"

"I want to know, but I can't show up late, that would be ungentlemanly. I'll just have to misbehave some other way." He grinned and put his hand on my chin. "See you at 6." He repeated and kissed me. After six months of dating, each kiss still swept me off my feet. I stood there with my feet planted, long after he had turned and walked out the door. I wiped the goofy grin off my face when I caught Ryan walking past the room with his hands over his eyes with Esposito doing the same, right behind him.

"Very funny guys!" I called after them.

* * *

...

As I had anticipated, traffic was horrendous. I'm not sure if there was an extra amount of cars on the road today, or if it was one of those times where every little stop seemed longer, just because you're in a hurry. I wouldn't say I'm one to have road rage, but I managed to receive the bird twice on my short, commute home.

I also witnessed a small traffic accident, where a bus had cut off a car that ended up read-ending a taxi, and normally I would have stopped, but this time I decided I'd let some other bored cop deal with it. Sure I wasn't a traffic cop, but I still liked to stop and give my word on what happened. My word tended to go a little farther than regular citizens' accounts.

I finally made it to my apartment and I shot right into the shower, stripping, while I ran through the rooms adjacent to my bathroom. I turned on the water, and soaped up my body, while I let my hair get soaked. Once I was done rinsing all the suds off me, I picked up my bottle of new shampoo for curly and wavy hair. I figured I'd wear my hair natural tonight, instead of drying it straight like I usually would have done. Rick had seen me plenty of times with my hair straight, in fact so often I doubted he knew I had a bit of curl to my hair.

When I was done my shower, I got out and toweled off, being careful not to mess with my hair too much. One thing that was annoying with curly hair is that it instantly starts to curl upon drying, and using a towel on the hair, crushed the spirals. I tied the towel around me tightly, so it would stay on while my hands were busy going through my clothes, instead of having to hold it up.

Last night I had narrowed down what I was going to wear tonight to three cocktail dresses. A blue one, a red one and a dark green with a white trim and sash.

I decided on the red one because it fit my form best, and well, because it matched the most comfortable heels I owned. The dress hung off one shoulder and hit right above my knees. A thin black belt ran around the waist of the dress, tying in the front contrasting nicely with the red silk. Right then I got a text from Rick, informing me he was leaving his apartment and that he should be here soon.

I threw on some pearl earrings and my mother's necklace as my accessories, not wanting to overdo it. My make-up came next and I decided to leave it simple, a little dab here and there. I was all dressed fifteen minutes later when there was a knock right on time at my door. I gathered up my purse and keys, and rushed to let Rick in. When I opened the door, I came face to face with a happy looking display of dozens of beautiful red roses.

"For you, love. Happy six month anniversary" He said handing them to me. Yeah I definitely don't know what I did to deserve a guy as wonderful as Rick.

**How was it? Feel free to let me know =] Is the case closed? What are you guys thinking?**

**Read and Review. **

**Can't waite til monday =] **


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